There are around 4.5 million Colorado citizens – Dick Armey is not one of them.

Armey is former U.S. House majority leader and one of the primary authors of the “Contract With America.”

He’s a pugnacious defender of conservative values and dead-on in his criticism of the massive tax increase masquerading as Referendums C and D.

But trust me, no one in Colorado cares about Dick Armey.

So why is he on TV debating Gov. Bill Owens on TABOR?

Where are congressman Bob Beauprez or former University of Denver president Marc Holtzman – the leading Republican candidates for governor?

Are any Colorado Republican leaders willing to take on Owens and Democrats on this colossal tax hike?

Anyone? … Anyone? … Anyone?

“I’ve been involved in Colorado politics all my life,” explains Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, “and I have never seen the Republican Party as rudderless as it is now.”

Without dependable leadership, you can understand why those scraping to keep fiscal sanity alive in Colorado reach out to national figures.

After all, they’re up against a political machine consisting of big-business interests, powerful unions and insatiable politicians projected to raise anywhere from $6 million to $10 million just to campaign for this government expansion.

Yet, by bringing in outsiders, those who want to save the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights will allow the public to be sucked into a debate on carpetbaggers instead of government waste and accountability.

No doubt, you’ll soon see and hear ads railing against the “crusading” anti-tax activists. Ads about nihilists who want to destroy the state; the lovers of potholes and deniers of roads. Fanatics who want to leave children hungry and uneducated.

You know, just for kicks.

(Those who support tax increases, you’ll notice, are never referred to as “activists” or “crusaders,” they’re merely looking out for you.)

Make no mistake, Owens’ defection to the Left on TABOR creates a false impression of bipartisanship and is the sole reason this tax increase has a chance.

So where are the Republicans? Are they scared of the governor?

Beauprez, for instance, isn’t ready to talk. Though he did write in a Backbone America poll that he was “increasingly concerned that Referendum C is to our budget problems what a chain saw would be to brain surgery – a blunt instrument for a delicate job.”

“Concern” is not exactly a condemnation of excessive taxation, but it is a great line, nonetheless.

Holtzman, the other leading Republican gubernatorial candidate, is a completely different story. He had his debate with Owens – in private.

“I’ve already told the governor,” he explains, “this isn’t a debate between me and you, it’s between you and you. … This is between the Gov. Owens that was twice elected by the people as a tax cutter, a fiscal conservative, and the one who now sides with left-wing forces in the Democrat legislature.”

Holtzman points out that Owens and the Democrats want a blank check on the amount of money government keeps from expected tax surplus.

“The same people that brought us the Democratic House, Senate and Sen. Ken Salazar,” Holtzman goes on, “now want to raise your taxes. This is not the Bill Owens I twice supported.”

From Owens and others, you’ll soon hear how the tax hike is only a pittance – which would be true if everyone, including toddlers and pets, paid taxes.

In reality, it will cost a Colorado family of four more than $3,000 – if not more.

For the middle class, it is a choice between months of mortgage payments or handing money to an organization that never stops asking for more.

“It pains me to say this,” Holtzman explains. “Owens is a good man who has done good things. He is my mentor. He brought me into Colorado politics. But my conscience cannot support this.”